SunnilandSUPERSpotlight: Anthony Baur
It was time to settle down with the first girl I met in college. My best friend,
I was born in Detroit and at 10 years
Courtney Tanner. She lived in Jack-
old we moved to Zephyrhills, Fl. Wow,
sonville, FL so I proposed and found
Florida was hot compared to Michigan.
a Supt. job up there. Married by 31 we
As soon as I was able to work, my first job was at The Links of Lake Bernadette and my older sister helped me get the job. I was the cart manager (that is what I called it). Every chance I got to work with the crew in maintenance, I did. I’d cut cups and set up in the mornings on the weekends and then take care of the carts until it got dark. It was a small crew in maintenance so I got to learn a lot with my first Supt. Chris Sullivan. He was an awesome teacher. That’s when I realized this is what I wanted to do when I grew up. So might I as well go to the best school for a Golf Course Superintendent: Lake City CC. My mom let me move out when I was 16 so I had rent to pay. I called it, “getting me ready for life”. For $12.50 a week I lived with my Aunt and Uncle Bob. I ended up doing two internships. The first was in Tallahassee (Go FSU). I worked at Summer Brooke for Supt. Mike Echols and he was nice enough to let me have his whole house. He’s 44
soon after had our son Cohan, then our been a great friend ever since. My next internship was at Deepdale in Long Island, NY. It was great place to get the high-end experience. I worked every day and loved every bit of it. After college I had an interview with Marriott at Grande Pines Golf Club for a 2nd assistant position. I learned a lot from an aggressive grass grower, Chuck Wagmiller. I took some of his tips on with me for life. It’s all about the details; if you can’t control some situations still maintain the details. We worked a lot and after a few years I transferred to Doral as an assistant. Then, in just a few months, I was Supt. of 36 holes. Well, right before that interview at Doral I got the worse news ever that my mom passed. She was only 46 and I was only 24. Damn life is tough, but you have to keep going. Got to be a part of 5 World Golf Championships at Doral, a growin, and that was enough for me.
daughter Nora. It’s been great starting a family and I enjoy every minute of it. The course I was at gave me a great learning experience and I started a renovation with them. During my renovation I met a fellow Supt. at St. John’s County Golf Club, Gina Williams, she was excited about my redo and I was excited to show someone. Gina later told me she was leaving The County and I should apply and man it has been a great time ever since. We are finally going to renovate after 8 years of trying. My 32-year-old Tif-Dwarf has a bit of contamination and everything is pretty tired. There have been so many accomplishments my last year as President of NFGCSA. We won best of St. Augustine for golf courses to play and I won Superintendent of the year from North Florida PGA. Remember everyone: only the strong survive so play hard, work hard, and be the best person you can in every situation. Golf Central • Volume 22, Issue 4
